Combination awning and side-wall panel for summer or outing houses or cottages



Jun 7, 1927.

1,631,214 C. B. LEFFERT COMBINATION AWNING AND SIDE WALL PANEL FOR SUMMER OR OUTING HOUSES 0R COTTAGES Filed March 16. 1923 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. By [2%. W ATTORNEY.

3 Sheets-Sheet 2 a T. 9 R l E s W 1 w m w M C n F June 7,1927.

00115111111101: AWNING AND snm WALL PANEL FOR sumusn on 01111116 11ous1as on commas INVENTOR.

ATTTORNEY.

v 1,6 1,214 June 7, 1927. c. B LEFFERT 3 COMBINATION AWNING AND SIDE WALL PANEL FOR SUMMER 0R OUTING HOUSES 0R COTTAGES Filed March 16. 1923 3 Sheets-Shoot 3 ATTORNEY.

Patented June 7, 1927.

UNITED STATES PATENITA'GOFF'ICE.

CHARLES 1B. LEFFERT, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO. UNITED STATES TENT & AWNING COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

I COMBINATION AWNING AND SIDE-WALL PANEL FOR SUMMER OR OUTING HOUSES OR COTTAGES.

Application filed March 16,1923. Serial No. 625,533.

This invention relates to summer or out ing houses designed for the use ofcampers and persons living at health resorts and elsewhere, and has for itsgeneralobject to provide a' greatly improved construction whereby the conifortof the occupants may be more fully and conveniently attained than by prior structures, kinds of weather conditions. I

My principal specific object is to provide an improved style of awning, together with means whereby such awning shall be fully adjustable by a person within the house.

Another specific object is to provide a convertible awning and side-wall panel for summer or outing houses or cottages.

A further specific object is to provide means of ventilation through the .walls of the house by which the fresh air shall be admitted near the roof instead of at a level nearer the floor.

' These, and other objects and advantages are attained by the structure illustrated in the drawings, presentlydescribed in detail, and particularly set forth in the appended claims. 1 f

Summer houses of'known construction embody side-walls provided with" vertically slidable panels guided by fixed vertical ways; these panels being incapable of any angular adjustment. .lVith respect to awning attachments, flexible fabric awnings, fastened to and suspended from the eaves of the house have been employed, the lower edge of the awnings being mounted on a roller, and the adjustment being effected by means of cords looped under the roller. This type of awning is objectionable in many respects; it is ina vertical plane; it

whips about and rattles in the wind; after being wet-by rain. the fabric shrinks, and currents of fresh air are shut off from the upper portion of the house bythis type of awning unless the awning is fully raised. All of these faults are obviated by the fea tures of construction to bedescribed.

Referring nowto the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a house constructed according to the invention, omitting all but a fragment of the roof, and showing one of the'awning panels in a partly raised position.

panel at its h and under all i Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the structure A shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an elevational view of the structure shown in Fig. 1, but with the awning ighest position while in a vertical plane.

Fig. 4, is an end elevation of the same structure and position in full lines, also showing further positions in dotted lines.

Figs. .5 and 6 are detail views ofone of the swivel runners, its base, and its guide,

as viewed 90 degrees apart.

F ig 7 is a detail top view of parts; and

Figs. 8 and 9 are detail views of one of the panel stop devices, being viewed 90 degrees apart.

So far as the present invention is concerned, thetype and details of the frame structure are immaterial, and-s0 require no detailed showing or description. Said the same frame includes four corner posts, 1, two of which are shown, tied together bysills, as 2, and by upper cross-members as 3, thus forming a. rigid frame for one wall. In the roof frame, two horizontal beams 4, laid at right angles to each member 3, are extended a. foot or less beyond the Wall, as shown at 5, and support a horizontal bar, 6,which forms a support for one lower edge of the canvas roof 7 (not fully shown) the angle being due to an elevated ridge-pole,

forming a peaked roof.

Referring to Fig. 1, the house Wall here illustrated consists of an upper section 8, made of wire screen and a lower section 9,

consisting preferably of a sheet of waterproofed canvas. A transverse Wooden bar 10, shown in dotted lines, has the ends secured fixedly to the uprights 1, and forms the attachment or support for the lower edge of the screen 8 and the upper edge of the canvas wall 9. Preferably, the screen is fixedly mounted, but may be movably mounted in a house structure embodying my improvements, without effecting the operativeness of the latter.

.Now, as an attachment to each wall or any one or more walls of the house,-'I have devised what I shall term an awning panel, which I believe to be essentially novel and of great utility, as I shall presently explain. I

In a preferred form and as shown, this panel comprises a rigid rectangular frame, 11-12, of any light and suitable construction. A vertical pa-rtition'strip 14 is provided for a purpose which will presently appear. The body of the panel, marked 15, may be a plate of sheet metal or other rigid material, but in most respects the best material is waterproofed canvas or'the like. In dimensions, the panel frame is about equal in height to the fixed wall panel 9, and in length is about the distance between the corner posts 1.

lVhen in its lowest position the panel 15- or its bottom bar 11-rests upon a pair of lugs 16 secured to sill 2, and said bar is then held against outward movement by the upturned ears 16 of said lugs. Then in this position the panel affords theoccupant of the house the maximum of air and light, but does not then,'o.f course, function as an awning. This movable pane] is guided for vertical" movement, by a pair of vertical metal. rods 18, loosely engaged by metal. eyes 19 mounted on the frame members 11, 12. Guide-rods 18 are secured to respective posts 1 by screws 20 and 21. The lower end of each foot portion 22 is extended outwardly and downwardly to form a hook 23, as shown in detail by Fig. 9, said hooksbeing located at about the level of the division bar 10. As shown in detail by Fig. 7, each of the eyes or runnings 19 has its shank, 29L, swiveled in a hole through one member 25 of a metal knee 2526, each knee being secured to an upper corner of the awning panel as shown. A recess is bored to receive the head 27 of each shank in theframe stile 12 (not shown).

In the construction shown in the drawing, the awning panel. is shifted and adjusted by means of two cords or small ropes, 29 and 30, both shown in Figs. 2 and 4:. One cord,

.29 is attached to the central frame piece lt between the upper and lower ends thereof; passes up to and over a small pulley 31, mounted on bar 6; thence inwardly, through a hole in said bar; thence downwardly as shown. Preferably its lower end forms a loop, as 32. The other aforesaid cord, 30, is fastened to the lower frame bar 11 at 33, and passes to the interior of the house through a hole 34 .in the member '10 seen in Fig. 1. For the sake of convenience and avoiding frayed rope ends, I have used one piece of cord only, as shown; but for clearness of description it is preferable to call each branch of the cord a cord, as these branches have dilferent functions.

In line with the cord-hole 34: an ordinary cleat 35 is secured to the frame bar 10.

The function of the lower cord, 30, is to enable the user to easily raise and lower the awning panel while he is inside the house, that is, to raise or lower the panel in a straight vertical line ;-for example to the height shown in Fig. 1. Obviously, by

wrapping the cord around. the cl'eat the panel may be supported at .the desired height.

In order to provide. for holding the panel immovably in this position (as against wind pressure) I have provided retainingmeans for the bottom of the panel. As shown, said means consist of a projected metal linger necessarily so, these fingers 36 may be offset inwardly, as indicated at 39 on Figs. 8 and 9.

This position of the panel clearly affords ventilation at the ceiling of the houseg this being one of the advantages that I claim over prior structures.

VVheneverthe panel, 15, is'to be utilized as an awning, the required operation is very simple. If the panel happens to be as high as is shown in. Fig. 1, it must be lowered sufliciently to release fingers 36 from hooks 37. Then, the operator pulls inwardly on both cords 29 and 30 at once. The pull transmitted through the upper cord 29 will tilt the panel upon the shanks 2 L as pivots and as indicated by dotted lines A on Fig. 4, while the pull through the lower cord, 30, will raise the panelbodily. The resultof these two pulls will determine the exact position in which the panel will be placed- Usually, the panel will be raised as high as it is permitted by guide-rods 18 and in which position it. is shown-in full lines in Fig. 4.

A still. higher angle of inclination than angle A is shown by the dotted lines B, and this is not the upper limit of its angular travel. It isthus apparent that the occupant of the house will have full control over all the possible adjustments of the panel, by manipulating the cord or cords while within the house. Under some conditions this advantagebecomes important. Vhen the. panel has been adjusted for use as a sun-shade, and the cords properly anchored I to the cleat, the two opposed tensions of the cords upon the panel frame will prevent the panel from being very materially displaced by ordinary winds.

Though only one side of a house is disclosed herein, it is obvious that two, three or all walls may be constructed as shown and described, or in some equivalent manner, provision for a door being, of course,understood. And in this connection I desire'to say that many immaterial variations from the construction shown in the drawing might be resorted to without departure from the scope of the invention.

In certain claims, by the term cord guides I wlsh to cover not only holes bored through a wall frame for guiding the cord,

but all equivalents of such holes, as, for e-xample, screw eyes or pulleys.

I claim: I

1. The combination of a wall having an opening therein, a fiat rigid panel of an area approximating that of said opening, a. guiding means on the outside of said wall at the side of said opening, means on the top end of said panel and including a pivoted member operatively engaged with said guiding means and permitting either a vertical sliding movement of said panel or a swinging movement thereof about said coacting means, downwardly facing hooks on said wall at the side of said opening and lateral extensions on said panel adapted-to engage unoer said hooks when said panel is in a predetermined vertical position for preventing said swinging movement. a

2. The combination of a wall having an opening therein, a flat rigid panel of an area approximating that of said opening, coacting means on said wall at the sides of said opening and upon said panel permitting a vertical sliding movement of the panel between two predetermined positions, and also of a swinging movement of said panel about said coacting means as an axis when said panel is in'a position between said predetermined positions, and means on said wall for holding the bottom end of said panel against said wall and against swinging movement when said panel is in either of the predetermined positions.

The combination of a wall having an opening therein, a flat rigid panel of an area approximating that of said opening, coacting means on said wall at the sides of said opening and upon said panel permitting a vertical sliding movement of the panel between two predetermined positions, and also of a swinging movement of said panel about said coacting means as an axis when said panel is in a position between said predetermined positions, downwardly faoing hooks on said wall at the sidesot the opening, lateral extensions on the bottom ends of said panel and upwardly facing hooks on said wall spaced a distance below said opening equal to the height of said panel, said hooks at the sides of said opening and said lateral extensions holdingsaid panel against swinging movement when in one predetern'iined' position and said upwardly facing hooks spaced from the bottom of said opening being adapted to receive said panel and to prevent swinging movement thereof while in the other of said predetermined positions,

4. The combination of a wall having an opening therein, a flat rigid panel of an area approximating that of said opening, guide rods spaced outwardly from said wall at each side of said opening, swivel eyes fixed to the top end of said panel and operatively engaging with said rods, so that said panel is capable of either a vertical sliding movement or a swinging movement about said swivel eyes as an axis, and downwardly facing hooks on said wall adjacent the sides of said opening and adapted when said panel is in a predetermined position to be. engaged by fixed'parts on said panel for holding said panel against swinging movement. I

5. The combination of a wall having an opening therein, guide rods spaced outwardly from said wall at the sides of said opening and each including a hook at its bottom end, a panel adapted to close said opening, means on the top end of the panel engaging said rods and providing a sliding and a pivotal movement of the panel on said rods, a second set of hooks below and in line with the first set of hooks and laterally extending fingers on said panel at the bottom thereof, adapted to be engaged under the desired hooks when said panel is in an intermediate position with respect to said rods. I

6. In combination with a wall having an opening therein, guide rods spaced outwardly from said wall at the sides of said opening and each including a hook at its bottom end, a panel adapted to close said opening means onthe top end of the panel engaging said rods and providing a slid ing and a pivotal movement of the panel on said rods, a second set of hooks below and in line with the first set of hooks, laterally extending fingers on said panel at the bottom thereof adapted to be engaged under the desired hooks when said panel is in an intermediate position on said rods, and lugs on said wall adapted to receive the bottom edge of said panel when said panel is in the lowest position on' said rods. v

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, this 10th day of March, 1923.

CHARLES B. LEFFERT. 

